Wears and Tears of Affection
by Forest Sentry Koneji
Summary: Everybody knows that flowers have meanings. To show them using cloth is a different matter altogether. In what manner shall you receive the wrappings of love? Kagome is about to find out first hand from Sesshoumaru.


**Title: ****Fu****risode Flusters**

**Prompt: The Alphabet Challenge by Smittee**

**Genre: **Romance, Humour

**Rating: M** – just to be safe ^-^; No lemons though.

**Warnings: **A few profanities and a short moment of nekidness :3

**Summary: **Everybody knows that flowers have meanings. To show them using cloth is a different matter altogether. In what manner shall you receive the wrappings of love? Kagome is about to find out first hand from Sesshoumaru.

For The Alphabet Challenge by Smittee.1st Prompt: Abapical— at the lowest point.

**Note**: Fluff-meister still has both arms. Post Bakusaiga.

**Regretfully, I don't own any of the Inuyasha plot or characters, nor do I make any profit from this. I can dream stuff up like my plots though…*runs away cackling madly***

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><p>Ever since Sesshoumaru and his entourage joined the shard hunters, travels had become much more difficult.<p>

It wasn't because of quarrels between the inu brothers, which were, given their violent history, surprisingly limited to casually flung insults and a few mock battles now and then.

Any stifling tension that they had expected to sprout between each pack wasn't present either. The daiyoukai had given the matter serious thought, and it showed when he personally approached the time-travelling miko to broach the subject with her.

"How to make others feel more ease? The simplest way is to give them gifts."

She really wasn't paying attention when she blurted it out. She was distracted by making lists of treats that she needed to get for the children, especially since Rin hadn't had a chance to taste any of her future confections.

So Sesshoumaru generously gave them all practical, yet meaningful gifts as a show of goodwill. It had smoothed most of the tension, most being pleasantly shocked at his generosity. Inuyasha was just plain stunned and spent the next hour interrogating his elder brother to see if it really _was_ him and not an imposter. An impressive bump atop of his head soon knocked that thought out…and his body out of the tree he was lounging in. Everyone else accepted his offerings of peace for what they were and continued on in their way. Except…

Kagome tried not to fidget. Again. It would NOT do to disgrace herself and Sesshoumaru by showing discomfort at the gift he gave to her. He might take it as ingratitude, which would be **bad**, especially when it was _her_ idea in the first place.

"Kagome, how beautiful a gift!" Sango and Rin had cooed over her when she first changed into it.

No mistake, it **was** a beautiful gift. A garment of snow white cloth softly sheathed her petite frame. The long, flowing sleeves and lower lining were all generously tipped a deep indigo and practically dripped with intricate stitches and glimmering beads. Flowers of varying hues — gold, reds, and blues — blossomed profusely but tastefully throughout the entire attire. To finish it all off, a cherry red obi was wound snugly around her waist and folded into a simple knot. It was as if skilful hands had woven sunset clouds into concrete form and pattern, and the _furisode _felt marvellously cool on her skin against the oppressive summer heat. Unfortunately it was also very, _very_ short: just barely brushing mid-thigh, to be precise.

"It will get dirty if I keep travelling in it." She ducked her head, seemingly embarrassed as her hands dusted off imaginary dirt from it. In reality, she was trying to tug it down.

'_Go lower, dammit!' _No such luck.

Her temper soared higher when, somewhere behind her, she heard Miroku laugh. He tried to pass it off as a cough when she turned around and glared venomously at him.

The Western Lord ignored the exchange and responded almost offhandedly, "It is of no consequence. The cloth is made by youkai techniques much like mine and both whelps' clothing. It will clean and repair itself as needed."

Rin giggled at Shippo as he puffed his little chest at the fact that he owned something so useful. Inuyasha just grumbled at being called a whelp. Kagome tried again.

"The length seems to have…deviated from traditional standards," Which is the precise reason why their travels have slowed down. She had taken to mincing her steps to avoid showing more of her thighs lest the hem rise higher and bring whatever dignity she had left to abapical points. Everyone else showed whatever minuscule pity they felt towards her situation and accommodated their pace so she wouldn't be left behind. Kagome would have felt terribly guilty, if not for the fact that Naraku had been seriously injured during their last confrontation with him. The Daiyoukai's presence contributed greatly to this, which was another reason why she didn't want to sound ungrateful to him.

"I had it altered to suit your preferences, given the length of your previous clothing. An agreeable compromise, I believe." He slanted his eyes towards her and seemed smugly amused about something.

'_I bet he's mocking me. Smartass. This is way shorter than anything I ever wore!' _The young miko grumbled in her mind.

And so that was how their days went; she, trying subtly to get permission to put away the kimono; he, cunningly rebuffing all efforts that she made.

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><p>Time passed in its usual contradictory nature, hastening summer's end onto the land, but had pleasing slow moments that brought content. Within that time, the group noted interestedly that Kagome and Sesshoumaru had become closer, often to be seen bantering back and forth with smiles. Of course, the fact that the young woman wasn't eviscerated when Sesshoumaru smiled told it all. Quips about some fault or another started off discussions that even brought the others to contribute their own piece. Of course, doing so left <em>themselves <em>open to the fire as well but everyone generally made a good sport out of it.

It was surprising to know that Sesshoumaru had a sense of humour that wasn't limited to the macabre area. His smiles were small and extremely rare, but she can still tell he found amusement in the her company. The easiest way to spot it was through the inflection in his words. Especially when he makes a comment about her clothes.

Friend or not, the sporadic yet unceasing reminders were making the Kagome desperate. She felt the others' amusement at her discomfiture, and if she was in their place, she would find it funny too. But since she wasn't, she didn't find it in her heart to be as understanding as usual. She huffed. _'Oh, the truth behind solid friendships. Brats.'_

With the additional threat of a nippy fall looming closer, she had to steel herself for the upcoming confrontation that she was going to give to the daiyoukai. While their situation was…uniquely amusing, there was still a slight matter of diplomacy that the others can't understand. The kimono was a gift after all: a beautiful, costly, and _personal_ gift.

She found the opportunity as they made camp one night. It was the night of the new moon, so the older humans and kitsune kit were prepared to hear their hanyou companion grumble through the night. Imagine their shock that upon his transformation, the human-turned hanyou simply called to the white-clad lord from across the camp.

"Oi, Sesshoumaru, I'm counting on you to keep us all safe tonight. I'm practically useless in this state."

Message delivered, Inuyasha simply plopped on the ground, rested his hands behind his head, and slipped off into slumber-land quietly. A soft exhalation was all the acknowledgement the elder inu gave before starting off to do a perimeter check.

'_Now's my chance!' _Kagome softly treaded towards the Dai, all the while mindful of her short attire.

"Let me go with you? I lost something on the way to camp and need help finding it." Her tone was the epitome of saccharine sweetness.

He quirked an eyebrow, amused.

"Surely you cannot be afraid of the dark."

It was a jest of good humour, not a scorn at a weakness. But more importantly – it was also a statement, not a question. He knew something was up.

She blushed lightly but laughed to cover her nervousness.

"No, it's just that my ability to search and find it by myself in these conditions is quite low. I need to get it soon."

Jaken squawked delightedly at her acknowledgement that his lord was "superior to all". Everyone else rolled their eyes at the kappa and turned steadfast eyes on the miko and inu youkai. Listening to him, Kagome grumpily admitted that at the moment, begging Sesshoumaru isn't a bad idea. It wasn't that far off to what she planned to do anyways.

Golden eyes stared unerringly at her as Sesshomaru seemed to contemplate her request. Finally, he nodded and slanted eyes towards the rest of the pack.

"Jaken," he rumbled, "Watch the children."

The kappa, of course, squawked his agreements and praises in a rapid and repetitive rant. Sesshomaru sent his retainer another glance to stop his monologue, before he strode into the velvet darkness. Kagome was soon beside him.

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><p>The forest was dense, so the deep woods would offer an adequate buffer to keep this conversation private. Better yet, the starlight was enough so that she didn't end up tripping on forest matter. Still, it really <em>is <em>dangerous to roam alone. She was more than happy to bask in the protective cocoon she felt in Sesshoumaru's company.

So content she was that she almost bumped into his still form. She looked up, set to apologize, when the closeness of those sun-kissed eyes startled a 'meep!' of surprise from her as she backpedalled to a more respectable distance. She held a fist over her pounding heart and a hand at her throat as she felt warmth creep up to settle on her cheeks. Clearing her throat, she tried to speak but couldn't string together a proper sentence.

"Sesshoumaru-sama… your present…Um… "

At the narrowing of his eyes, she plowed ahead as she waved her hands frantically in apology.

"Come on, hear me out here! I really did lose something important here, and only you can help me!" Frustration mounted her voice, which her companion obviously noticed because his lips turned up at the corners slightly.

He took a step closer to her, "Very well. I shall do what I can to remedy this situation. What is it that you have lost, _Ka-go-me_." His voice dropped into a deep, rumbling purr and she felt her legs turn to jelly.

She knew that he did this on the hopes of throwing her off, because the direction of this situation looked like some of their previous arguments. Her blush deepened and stomped a step closer to him.

"My dignity! Sesshoumaru-sama, I was so happy to know that you were willing to get along with us. I mean, for me to receive something of this worth…And the effort placed in making this –! "

He interrupted. "Good. This one took part in it's creation by imbuing my own youki to each strand of the cloth. It is the first to have been created as such and there is no one stronger to make another like it."

Another step closer.

Surprised at this, she too shuffled closer, as if wanting to have the answer just between them.

"Really?"

He just looked at her. A smile played on her lips, but shook her head.

"Like I was saying, I'm grateful for the clothes, but –" she became flustered again.

"Miko." A step.

"– I swear Miroku-sama is just _waiting_ for it to go shorter –"

He growled, "Kagome –"

"I'll let you do whatever you want! Just, PLEASE let me get out of these clothes!"

A gleam appeared in his citrine eyes.

"Very well, miko."

She felt a surge of what she recognized as his energy, covering her entire body and left it curiously tingling pleasantly. A moment later, a soft flurry of petals rained down on both of them. The miko looked up confusedly. There weren't any flowers that high up this late in the year, past the blooming season as it was, so what could have…

She froze. The soft 'petals' flirted with her skin and made her aware that her arms were now bare.

As were her shoulders.

As were everything else.

She shrieked and attempted to cover herself as the truth barrelled into her. The raven-haired woman looked up and was gobsmacked at the self-satisfied expression that Sesshoumaru now wore upon his face. He clarified for her.

"My own youki responds to my will even outside my body. You will never have to worry about my accidentally hurting you to get you to this…state."

Rage burned away her mortification and she let out another scream, set to strangle the idiotic dog.

"SESSHOUMARUUUUUU—"

Before a set of lips claimed hers in a secure kiss. Thoughts of fighting and all her anger melted away as she focused on the pleasant warmth he induced and provided. She relaxed and wound her arms around his neck, whining when he leaned back slightly. A nip of approval greeted her as he slanted his head to deepen their kiss. Kagome sighed and grinned dreamily into the kiss. All those weeks of increased sexual tension between them, all because of that damn short–!

His mokomoko took that moment to snake up her against spine and started stroking it.

She melted some more. Never mind. If dignity was the price she had to pay for this moment, then all that embarrassment was worth it!

Now to break it to everyone else that she accepted Sesshoumaru's suit…

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><p><strong>Hello all! It's been a while since my last update but I'm baaaaack! I'll reveal a bit of a spoiler: it's important to understand that all of the chapters will have something to do with kimonos ;)<strong>

**From what I've researched,****I'll start off by explaining that** _kimono _**is basically a general term, equivalent to how we say **'clothes' **in English.**

**Just a little info on furisode:**

_Furisode _- literally means '_swinging sleeves'_ because of the sleeve's long length. They tend to be very colourful with many patterns throughout the whole garment. Unmarried women might wear them in formal settings, especiallyat coming-of-age ceremonies (_seijin shiki) _and weddings.

I used about a dozen references for this info and put it into a very short form, so if you wanna know more about it, then I suggest googling it up or going here first:

http :/ kidorakujapan. com/ know / women_kimono. html

**Reviews are appreciated! They are the life giving blood for an authoress' spirit~ *smile***


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